Category Archives: Brooklyn

In March 2011, I took the F train to Brooklyn to attend Alamy CEO James West’s meeting with a few dozen photographers at the stock agency’s Jay Street office, where we had a presentation and Q&A about Alamy’s past, present, and its plans for the future.

Quality Control (QC) – Alamy determines which files are accepted in a different way from other agencies. Briefly, all of your files waiting for QC at the same time count as one batch, even if you submitted them at different times. Don’t expect each image to be checked, but if one image from that batch fails, the entire batch fails.

Sales: Images – Quantity is just part of the sales equation, so don’t expect great results from lots of average, similar images of over-represented subjects. Cover neglected niche subjects… convey concepts in new, clear ways… take pictures that effectively tell a story.

Sales: Keywords – Keyword your images in an accurate and thorough way, making it as easy as possible for customers to find your images that fit their needs. | So, if you have an image of a girl holding a Singapura cat, and no other person or animal is in it, include relevant keywords, such as: girl, holding, cat, child, pet, happy, outdoors, young girl, pedigreed cat, Singapura, domestic cat, feline, one person, one animal — and avoid spamming, which is including irrelevant keywords, like: dog, bites, man.

The Coney Island History Project celebrated the past & present of the Brooklyn neighborhood, boardwalk and beach, and amusement park, and visitors were greeted with ocean breezes that helped make the summer day even more pleasant.

When I heard that 13-year-old SHEIMYRAH MIGHTY, whom I first photographed singing at a 2008 rally at Long Island’s Eisenhower Park, would sing the U.S. National Anthem at the 2nd Annual Interfaith Memorial Service for Haiti on January 11, 2012, I looked into covering that Brooklyn Borough Hall event.

I went with a friend and fellow-photographer, Mike Leverett Dorn, and since we were running a bit late, we rushed from the MTA Borough Hall subway stop into the Hall. And as we raced up the long flight of stairs I could hear Sheimyrah singing. Just (barely) in time!

New York City Police Commissioner RAY KELLY was the Keynote Speaker, and other participants in the memorial service included a variety of Haitian musical and literary artists (Sheimyrah Mightyis Jamaican Haitian American); politicians; architect Rodney Leon who designed the African Memorial Burial Ground in NYC; Christian, Muslim, and Jewish spiritual and community leaders; and providers of Haitian humanitarian relief.